Malfurion twitched his eyebrows and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Tyrande remained defiant, arrogantly stating:
"With the protection of Elune, the Night Elves have nothing to fear."
Illidan looked at her intently. "Highmountain Tauren had the protection of Huln Highmountain, yet they still became food."
Tyrande flew into a rage, roaring, "How can Huln Highmountain be compared to the great Elune?"
Illidan decided to ignore Tyrande's unreasonable demands and turned to look at Malfurion:
"Chen Stormstout is eager to emulate Thrall. When Thrall founded Orgrimmar, his first attack was on Ashenvale."
Malfurion sighed, "I said long ago that the arrival of the Orcs would bring no good, but unfortunately my mentor Cenarius said that the Orcs came to save Azeroth."
"Your mentor is nothing but Thrall's lackey," Illidan said bluntly. "How many lives have the Night Elves sacrificed to protect Ashenvale? If the Lightforging Orcs attack, what will you use to resist?"
Tyrande continued, "Under the protection of Elune, the Night Elves will surely triumph."
Malfurion and Illidan ignored Tyrande. Malfurion said helplessly, "We can't reproduce as quickly as the Lightforging Orcs."
"Therefore, we must adopt a policy of elite troops," Illidan said solemnly. "The Druid's Path is too weak. Look at you, you've cultivated for over ten thousand years, yet you're still not as good as drinking a bowl of Blood of Mannoroth. The Night Elves are the most outstanding race I've ever seen, even surpassing the Draenei. If trained using my methods, a mere handful of them could conquer Orgrimmar."
Tyrande roared, "Stop your wishful thinking! Night Elves will not accept Fel!"
Malfurion pretended not to hear and hesitated before saying, "The path of the Demon Hunter is powerful, but unfortunately too cruel, taking lives in the process."
Illidan shrugged and said, "I admit that the Demon Hunters trained by the Black Temple have problems; they eventually become irrational Demons, leading many to betray us. I'm still exploring this, and the Demon Hunters I've trained this time are flawless except for their power."
Malfurion lowered his head and remained silent, while Tyrande's beautiful eyes were filled with vigilance.
Illidan understood their concerns and declared loudly, "You may entrust me with the least capable members of your people, and it doesn't matter if they are injured or disabled. I guarantee they will be loyal only to me and will never set foot in the Night Elf territory, except to help fight the Lightforging Orcs."
Malfurion and Tyrande both breathed a sigh of relief; a group of powerful Demon Hunters would threaten their dominance.
"How many Night Elves do you need?" Malfurion asked, pondering a number.
Illidan saw through Malfurion's thoughts and smiled faintly:
"To tell you the truth, you don't have only one option. There are many Mindless Mana Addiction Sufferers on Quel'Thalas Island, Suramar is full of wandering Withered, as well as Spider Elves who are willing to serve me. For Illidan's sake, you only need to send a symbolic hundred Night Elves."
Malfurion and Tyrande breathed a sigh of relief. One hundred Night Elves would be easy to deal with; they just needed to hand over some of the criminals.
After Illidan left, Tyrande hesitated for a long time before saying:
"Your brother is very powerful."
Malfurion sighed uncertainly, "His origins are shrouded in mystery. We've imprisoned him for ten thousand years, yet we haven't uncovered any details."
Tyrande shook her head. "I wasn't talking about this one, but your younger brother."
Malfurion's expression was complicated.
Just as Chen Stormstout had promised, Thrall had a place to stay in Orgrimmar.
Although under house arrest and eating only simple meals every day, he didn't suffer much and his days passed peacefully.
Recently, Thrall has taken a liking to reading, so Chen Stormstout asked Khadgar to borrow a large number of books from the Dalaran Library.
After conquering the Highmountain Tauren, Chen Stormstout couldn't wait to show off to Thrall.
"I have already incorporated the Highmountain Tauren into the Allied Races," Chen Stormstout said with no small amount of pride. "Look, the Horde's power now far exceeds the territory you rule."
As the lord of Kalimdor, Chen Stormstout loves looking at maps, and it would be even better if he could show them off to his enemies.
In Kalimdor, apart from Tanaris ruled by Ogres, large swathes of land in the south, including Silithus, Un'Goro Crater, Thousand Needles Desolace, Feralas, Mulgore, Dustwallow Marsh, the Crossroads, and Azshara, belong to the Horde, plus a large area of land in the Broken Isles.
Thrall complimented him subtly:
"Since Queen Azshara's reign ended ten thousand years ago, no emperor has ever been as successful as you, Chen Stormstout. You are now the greatest emperor of all time."
Chen Stormstout Liejiu laughed heartily, "Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do without your help. Without the Savior Thrall's reputation, it would have been difficult for me to achieve anything. Thrall, if it were you, what would you do next? Some people have suggested that I go to war with the Alliance and occupy the lands of the Eastern Kingdoms."
Thrall habitually stroked the fangs, only to find them empty, realizing that Chen Stormstout had taken them.
"Khadgar wouldn't offer such a plan," Thrall analyzed seriously. "It must have been Mela Highmountain's suggestion; she's just joined your side and is eager to prove herself."
"Haha, nothing can be hidden from you." Chen Stormstout laughed heartily, his voice brimming with spirit.
"I've been reading a lot lately," Thrall said, pointing to a neatly stacked pile of books on the table. "I've discovered a secret in books: those who achieve great things in ancient times, besides personal charisma, luck, strength, and wisdom, also needed to understand the Way."
"We Pandaren have a deep understanding of the Dao," Chen Stormstout boasted at the opportune moment. "I wonder how the Savior understands the Dao?"
Thrall said sincerely, "The Dao is ever-changing, and everyone's understanding is different. In my understanding, Azeroth has already arranged it. For example, the opposition between the Alliance and the Horde, trying to maintain a balance of power, is the Dao of Azeroth. The ones who control this Dao are Elune, the bigwigs of the Burning Legion and the Army of the Light, and possibly the Pantheon and the Void forces."
Chen Stormstout, his eyes slightly narrowed, was deeply shocked.
"If you were to wage a full-scale war against the Alliance, you would be going against the Way," Thrall said earnestly. "On the other hand, small-scale battles and occasional skirmishes are also part of the Way of Azeroth."
Chen Stormstout, exclaimed, "Truly worthy of being called the Savior Thrall! I'll send someone to deliver more books right away!"
Watching Chen Stormstout figure, Thrall said regretfully:
"It's a pity you won't believe me."
He then revealed a cunning look. "You arrogant Pandaren, thinking I'm lying to you, you'll pay the price for your arrogance."
Upon leaving Thrall's courtyard, Chen Stormstout, sternly instructed the guards to be on high alert.
Not far away, Mela Gaoling had been waiting for a long time and asked anxiously:
"What did Thrall say?"
Chen Stormstout, snorted coldly in dissatisfaction:
"Thrall advised me against a full-scale war with the Alliance and even tried to lecture me on the principles of Tao. Humph, when we Pandaren were studying Tao, the Orcs were still eating dirt."
Mela Gaoling laughed, "Thrall is becoming increasingly cowardly. Why trust him? The opportunity to achieve hegemony is right before our eyes; we must cherish it."
Chen Stormstout looked up at the sky and said, "I'll trust Thrall once. A full-scale war is not advisable, and I'm not satisfied with small skirmishes. Let's find a compromise."
Adopting the middle way has always been a tradition of the Pandaren.